Blushing Pom Holiday Cheesecake

As I mentioned the other day, the nice people at POM Wonderful sent me a case of juice. I have some whole pomegranates around my house and I have some cool recipes planned, but I am going to try and spread them out so as not to overload you lovely people that read my blog with pom recipes. After doing some recipe searching on the POM Wonderful site, I settled on this cheesecake as one of the recipes I wanted to try. I have never made my own cheesecake before and lately, I have been seeing some really cool cheesecake recipes in the blogosphere so I have had a little craving for it. This is really easy to make. It takes a bit of time with the chilling so I am glad I saved it for a weekend project. I greatly reduced the original recipe to make 2 mini cakes. I could not get enough of this cake though. I felt a little like Rachel and Chandler in that episode of Friends when they steal the neighbor's cheesecake. Lucky for me, I didn't have to eat cheesecake off the floor. I had a couple of cracks in one of my cakes, but I was able to cover it up nicely with the glaze. The title says that this is a holiday cheesecake, but it is ideal for anytime you have a cheesecake craving.

By the way, are you watching Gossip Girl this season?? It's so good and I can't wait for next week's episode. Last night featured music from pop darling Robyn. My friend Tony got to meet her over the weekend and you can read all about it here.


Blushing POM Holiday Cheesecake
(Adapted from Pom Wonderful)

Makes 1 9-inch cake (Or 2 4.5-inch cakes in my case)

For the Crust:
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

For the filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
5 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt

For the glaze:
6 tablespoons pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Garnish (optional)
Pomegranate arils
Mint leaves

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

To make the crust:
Stir together crumbs, sugar and butter until moistened. Press evenly into bottom of two 4.5 inch spring form pans or one 9 inch baking dish.

To make the filling:
In a large mixer bowl beat cream cheese and sugar on medium speed of electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs, milk, vanilla and salt just until blended. Pour over crust in pan; spread evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, until cake is firm at sides and soft-set (jiggles slightly) in the center. Do not over-bake.

Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for up to 2 hours, then cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours before serving. (Refrigerate cake for up to 1 week.)

To make the topping:
In saucepan combine juice with sugar and cornstarch. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Cool slightly; spread glaze over cake.

Sprinkle arils on top; garnish with mint leaves if desired.